Space Yacht entrepreneur group gives industry advice to CSUF students

Space Yacht, a Los Angeles events collective, was invited by the Cal State Fullerton Music Industry Club on Tuesday night to share their story and answer questions relating to their success.

Henry Lu, Rami Perlman and Ollie Zhang, the co-founders of Space Yacht, went from hosting parties that didn’t attract a crowd at the time of their start-up in 2015, to having lines out the door in 2017 and they continually tried to build up their reputation.

The Los Angeles-based three-man party crew said they promise to deliver sensational clubbing experiences through “showcasing the next generation of dance music.”

As partners of Space Yacht, Lu and Perlman gave advice to Fullerton students in McCarthy Hall. Twenty attendees made it to the event, and a Q&A session ignited an interactive discussion.

With Space Yacht occupying the limelight for electronics music and LA party culture today, they also occupy the guest spot for the Music Industry Club’s inaugural master class.

The CSUF Music Industry Club is one of the newer organizations on campus whose goal is to educate students on the music industry through providing opportunities for students to meet and speak with professionals in the field.

“We just want to bring different kinds of artists and professionals from the music industry to the campus so they can share their wisdom,” said Amani Roberts, CSUF Music Industry Club advisor and an adjunct business professor.

Sharing their background, Lu and Perlman said they formed Space Yacht through hanging out during late nights at work and blasting house music. As their business grew, they realized they didn’t want to be just a party, but rather a “discovery platform.”

Since their establishment, they’ve endorsed other projects in addition to their weekly Tuesday Hollywood parties, including radio broadcasts, festivals and discovering new artists.

Space Yacht has expanded their locations beyond LA to reach audiences in San Francisco and Phoenix. Though their business started four years ago, Lu and Perlman know that their journey is just beginning.

“We’re actually really energized by what we do, like we’re building I think one of the most exciting music companies in the US,” Lu said.

Despite the successes that Space Yacht is experiencing now, the group acknowledges their climb to the top wasn’t without sacrifice.

In addition to working demanding 9-to-5 jobs, Lu said he worked for three corporate companies for about 11 years.

In 2011, Space Yacht landed their first client, Steve Aoki, and built him into a brand that not only launched his career, but their business as well. As a result, they were able to work with other well-known artists like LMFAO and Kaskade.

Finding hidden talents was just as important to Space Yacht as maintaining their brand with already established artists. Many up-and-coming artists create their music platform on Soundcloud, Lu said. The collective is also looking to Twitter to find the next big thing.

Lu and Perlman also emphasized the importance of asking questions. Just as they welcomed students to ask them questions tonight, they didn’t stop emphasizing how much they were able to learn from the answers their mentors had given them.

To conclude their talk, Lu and Perlman offered wisdom to those looking to work in the music industry. From taking advantage of peer mentors to practicing humility, Space Yacht emphasized that there’s more to this business than finding talent.

“If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room. You want to surround yourself with smarter, more experienced (people),” Lu said.

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